The antidote to brainless teen flicks

Who would have thought, a razor-sharp satire from MTV Films, makers of Varsity Blues and Joe's Apartment? Election has fast become one of my personal "new classics," a teen comedy for adults that skewers the Drive Me Crazy world of film and puts the politics of small-time elections through the wringer. Adapted from the novel by Tom Perrotta (whose three novels are quick and energetic reading, trust me) and featuring the best comedic performance from Matthew Broderick since Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Election only gets better as it goes.

Reese Witherspoon can be a blessing and a curse (blessing? Pleasantville. curse? Cruel Intentions.), but as overbearing teen prodigy Tracy Flick, she hits every sour note. High school classes always have at least one Flick, the girl who raises her hand at every question from the teacher, who participates in so many clubs that she actually has keys to the school and who has parental responsibility oozing from her pores. She's the shoo-in for student-body president as Election opens, and the school at large has no idea of the affair she initiated with a now-deposed teacher.

The blacklisted teacher, it turns out, was close friends with Mr. McAllister (Broderick), the requisite nice-guy authority figure. He was voted student's choice three years in a row, and the election is his responsibility. He knows full well the evil wrought upon the world by its Tracy Flicks, and he plans to at least put up a protest by convincing injured quarterback Paul (Chris Klein, who played pretty much the same character in American Pie) to run against Tracy.

Paul, the flakiest of the characters, is somehow supposed to be the most likable. Its his oafish charm that springs another sort of odd revenge game into motion -- his younger sister (Jessica Campbell) is a burgeoning lesbian and borderline stalker whose girlfriend soon trades up with Paul, prompting the lesbian/stalker to enter the election, too. Campbell's speech to the student body is a notable comedic highlight in a movie full of them.

These are the superficial details of Election and, like the book, the movie is narrated individually by its principle characters. Broderick -- and his fleeting attractions to Flick and a wife's friend -- is the main focus of the film, and his character's fate is a particularly wicked one, but the movie also balances the rest of its ensemble perfectly. Director Alexander Payne (Citizen Ruth; haven't seen it) also injects some appropriate but MTV-esque film-school moments as needed.

I've met a lot of people who didn't quite "get" Election and others who loved it. Granted, its humor can leave a lot of people cold, but I think it's the perfect remedy to the innocuous charm of movies like She's All That and 10 Things I Hate About You.